At first glance, Gilman’s short story,”The Yellow Wallpaper,” is a very strange story. The story is based on a woman who eventually becomes taken over by the yellow wallpaper in her room, even to where she eventually is driven insane. Although the story only tells you the main details, the wallpaper is so much more than just a terrible decoration choice. When annotated, the wallpaper is made out to be a symbol of all the terrible things that are to come. The room at the top of the house was not just a room, but a place that caused the unfortunate woman to become crazy. Everything that the wallpaper represents take the story deeper and allow the reader to actually understand the woman’s situation.
While reading the story, the reader learns that this story is told through a diary the woman used to vent. After being left alone in that awful room, the woman is very bored and lonely, so she decides to write in it. At the beginning of the story, the woman is prescribed a “cure” for her “problems.” The woman’s husband wanted to make sure that his wife only rested and did nothing else because he thought would involve brainpower. It might not seem like it at first, but the diary is much more than just a collection of thoughts. Because the woman kept the journal, it symbolizes how she will not let the wallpaper and her husband control her life. It was a symbol of rebellion.
However, despite how much the woman tried, she still let the wallpaper take over her, and the reader